Le Troisième Semaine

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On Monday the school organized a trip to St Paul de Vence. I was very interested in visiting the village because I didn’t get a chance to visit it on my previous trip even though I was nearby in Vence. We met in the morning and traveled by bus. We were delayed for a short bit in Nice because they were filming along the beach. Our first stop was the Fondation Maeght. I love modern art so the museum didn’t disappoint me. I really enjoyed the sculpture garden with many statues by Miro, Calder and Giacometti. I also loved the setting which is in a pine forest with the cool grass. After the museum, we walked to the old city and had a couple of hours to tour the shops and have lunch. There are many art galleries in the village. There are also great views over the valley. I enjoyed the village even though it was popular. I can just imagine how crowded it must be on a summer weekend. It wasn’t too bad on Monday.

After lunch, we went to Vence to visit the Chapelle du Rosaire. This church was designed by Matisse. It was very interesting and different. The stained glass is beautiful. I really liked the cactus in the windows which represent the difficulties and struggle in life. The simple black and white tiles representing the stations of the cross were also very different. I liked the stark simplicity of the chapel.

After the chapelle, the bus took us up the Loup valley though Tourrettes sur Loup to Gourdon. It is a perched village high (760m) in the foothills. The road was very windy and I felt a bit car sick. But the view! You could see Nice and the sea in the hazy distance. The village is also known for pain d’espice or gingerbread. The ginger helped my car sickness. The village is charming but there are many vendors so it is a little tacky. There is a cool garden around the Chateau but it is not open in October. The trip back wasn’t as bad although we got stuck in traffic because of the film again.

Today’s forcast was for rain, but it has been very warm and sunny. There was a strong wind along the ocean. You could see the whitecaps but it was not windy at the school or my apartment. The wind cleared the air and it was stunningly clear this evening.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

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After breakfast, I decided to go back to Nice for food again. A quick bus ride and I’m back in the old town. At the stop in Villefranche, I run into another student. She spent all of Saturday visiting the different buildings that were open for the Journee du Patrimoine in Nice. She recommended visiting the Palais des Rois Sardes – an palace which is now the résidence préfectorale. It is not normally open. I completely forgot about the Journee du Patrimoine.

It does not seem as crowded today. I follow the same route as last Sunday passing the pasta shops. I check out the wine store. It has a great selection along with ‘fill-your-own-container’ wine. I discover that I forgot my camera. I’m jinked. Last Sunday – my camera battery died. This time I forget the camera!

The Palais is gorgeous. Wonderful beautiful mirrored rooms. I love the winter garden room with the pale green furniture and the balconies that look over the Cours Saleya. After visiting the Palais, I went to the Opera. There was a line and the woman in front of me said there was at least a 30 minute wait for the tour. I decided not to wait and head off to shop.

I head back to the market and make my first stop to purchase some fresh vegetables. You use a large pan to hold your selections. You give the owner the pan and they will then weigh your selections. I get a head of lettuce, garlic, several round zucchinis (rond de nice variety) and a large tomato called beef heart. I love the tomatoes. Next stop is back at the wine store for a bottle of Bandol Rose. Next some fresh ricotta raviolis and daube sauce. I also pick up a bagette at a wood burning bakery on Place du Jesu. Now back to the bus and Villefranche.

Everyone seemed to want to go to Monaco on Sunday. The bus that goes to Villefranche also goes to Monaco. There is a long line and I am not able to get on the bus. I didn’t have my money ready and I miss the second bus. I’ve waited now a half-hour for the bus and I’m determined to get on the next bus. It is a mad house. Everyone starts to queue until the bus pulls in and then it is a free-for-all. Everyone is pushing and crowding to get on the bus. I shove my way and push myself onto the bus. My sack is heavy and it is a challenge because I don’t want to spill the sauce for the ravioli. I finally make it on the bus but my bread suffered a crushing blow during the maylee.

It is a short ride to Villefranche. The walk up the hill to my apartment doesn’t seem to get any easier. I think it is harder today because I’m tired and I’m carrying a heavy sack with the wine. It is overcast and sweat is dripping off me when I finally arrive chez moi.

I spend the rest of the afternoon on the deck lounging and reading the newspaper. A couple of the neighbors in the apartment work in the garden. I hear the clip-clip while they prune the bushes. I nap for a while.

Lazy Sunday Morning

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Saturday night, I ran into another student. He is a photographer and we talked about where we had been earlier in the day. He had been to Eze and Monaco on Saturday. We talked about the possibilities for Sunday and he asked if I had been up to Mont Alban yet?

Everynight I see the fort lit on the hill (Mont Alban) above Villefranche. The Count of Savoy built several forts in the area to protect the villages and ports from the French. The citadel at Villefranche was built to protect the city by sea. Mont Alban fort was built to protect the city from attack by land. It was supposed to be an easy walk from the Col de Villefranche where I do my grocery shopping. He said it is a very good place to watch the sun rise.

I woke up at 6:30. It was tough to get out of bed. I was very tired and I wanted to sleep. But I knew I had to get up to get the best light. I got up and got out by 6:45.

All was still. There was an occasional moto and car but not much else. I heard a few birds. I’ve noticed that there are not very many birds in France. At the Col, I wasn’t certain which road to take but I finally found the right road and saw the sign for Mont Alban. The road was steep and narrow. It reminded me a bit of the trail that I took from La Turbie to Peillon on my previous trip to Cote d’Azur. After a short bit, the houses disappear and I saw the hiking trail sign. It points towards a stairway that seems to go on forever. It is paved and passes through an oak forest. I realize I am in the forest on the top of Mont Alban. It is very dry. It has been a long hot summer. Soon I can see Nice laid out below me. In no time, I’m at the fort. It is not open but you can walk around it. There is a gorgeous vista of a red ball rising over the Villefranche harbor. Sunday sunrise. The fort is bathed in the golden light of dawn. On the other side of the mont, the sun rays light Nice and the shadow of the Mont is slowly pulled from the city like a blanket.

I head back down and discover the wonderful bakery at the Col is open. I get two croissants and a London Times newspaper. It is the first newspaper that I’ve bought.

Back at my apartment – it is time for breakfast on the deck. Two croissants, hot strong coffee, a glass of juice and a newspaper. C’est perfect!

More on Mont Alban Hike

Monaco

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Saturday, I met Anna and some other students to go to the Grace Kelly Exhibit. Anna was very stressed about taking the bus and knowing where to get off. I told her that I knew where to go but she still wanted to figure it out herself. I hope I can do what she is doing when I am 88 years old.

The exhibition was very interesting. I really enjoyed seeing it with her. We had very interesting discussions about fashion in the ’60s and about Grace Kelly’s life. Anna has a great memory of the time. It brought back some good memories for me from the time when I sewed. In high school and college, I used to sew most of my clothes. It was great fun.

There were many of Grace Kelly’s letters from her days as a star, from her courtship and from her time as Princess. Who thought to save all the letters, telegrams and scripts? There were also the gown from her movies, from her wedding and the balls. The gowns from the 50’s were very elegant. You could still wear them today and be in style. There were also many gowns from the late ’60’s and ’70s. They were not as interesting. That was a bad fashion time.

The most interesting letters were from Alfred Hitchcock. She did three movies with him. She was one of his favorite actresses and he was very disappointed when she had to give up acting to be a Princess. He was very bizarre. There was this one letter where he wrote that he saw a picture of her with a hat adorned with flowers. She loved hats. Hitchcock wondered what happened to the insects that were attracted by the flowers. Would they die in her hair? Such a bizarre thing to write.

There was not much said about her death. She died on Sept 14, 1982. I guess that makes this the 25th anniversary of her death. Near the end of the exhibit there was a film where she was asked if she was happy. Her answer was very telling. She said she had many happy moments in her life but that she did not think happiness was a constant state. It was a very melancholy.

It took us over three hours to see the whole exhibit. We spent a lot of time reading the letters and watching the movies about her life. We had just a little time to grab a salad before the restaurants closed. We did have a chance to also go to the Casino but we didn’t pay the entrance fee to go in and gamble. The Ferrari cars outside were pretty impressive as was the Hotel de Paris next door.

L’Escalier

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I found a new way to get down the hill. Actually I was shown it after dinner on Wednesday by another student who lives along the stairway. I like it better because I can avoid the traffic. I usually don’t take it back up to my apartment because there are too may steps for me. And if I’m coming up at night, I prefer the openness of the street although I have to listen and dodge the cars. It is lit so it might be okay.

I also like to take it because it is lined with interesting tropical plants. As I start down in the evening, a sweet fragrance wafts up. I think it is the 4 o’clock flowers. I grew up with them in California and I still remember them. Bougainvillea is very common in the gardens along with the tall hedges of cypress and juniper. There is also passion vine, deadly nightshade and two tropical vines that I had to ask G about. One is related to black eyed susan vine – Thunbergia grandiflora. It is a lovely large lavender blue flower with a yellow throat. I love it. Oleander is very common and is in all the gardens. There is another light baby-blue flower that I haven’t identified. I described it to G and he couldn’t figure out what I meant. I also saw a wonderful scarlet red honeysuckle. At the end of the stairway is a huge banana plant complete with fruit. Bananas and lemons grow year around in Menton. I’ve also seen Angel trumpet (Brugmansia) in the gardens. Of course, there are also many olive, citrus, acasia, magnolia and sycamore trees. G is going to love it here.

Rugby

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Tonight I’m watching the rugby game. It is England versus South Africa. I’m for the Springboks but most everyone is for England in the bar. I think I’ll stick around to see what happens. Tomorrow – Monaco and the Princess Grace exhibit.

It is becoming a blur

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What day is it? Okay, from class I know … C’est le 13 Septembre 2007 or C’est Jeudi 13 Septembre 2007 but it all seems a blur. Is it Thursday already?

Last night we had a group dinner at one of the hotels here in Villefranche. It was great for socializing but the food was so-so. For once, I’m glad I had the beef. Everyone said the fish was very bland. But I really enjoyed talking to people. And I got to talk in English. Unfortunately, I think our table got a little loud and we were not all Americans!

The lunches at the Institut have been very good. We usually have an entree (hors d’oeuvre), main dish and a small dessert. For example today we started with cut cantaloupe and watermelon. The main dish was scalloped potatoes with salmon baked together. Dessert was a lemon meringue tart. I’ve been cooking dinner ‘chez moi’. Usually pasta because it is fast and cheap.

So far, two other classmates have given their talk. They have gone pretty well. I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to talk about. It will probably be about where I live. It will be easier to talk about than other subjects. Everyone thinks I’m going to talk about plants since I’ve been going to gardens but I don’t know enough about plants. Plus it would be difficult to have to explain in French. It will be easier talking about Washington State.

This weekend I’m going to go to Monaco to see the Princess Grace exhibition and check out the Casino. One of the women at the school wants to go and is a little uncertain about traveling by herself so we are going together. I’m no certain what I’m going to do Sunday. I might take the train up into the mountains.

Deuxième semaine

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It is going pretty well this week. The passe compose is fine but I struggle making a question and answering. I struggle the most with Qu’est-ce que … Our instructor has us answer “we do know not if …”. I really struggle remembering “ce que”. Je ne sais pas ce qu’il ….. Then there is quand, qui, comment de, …. Sigh. I got pretty good at seeing the question and writing it. But when I went into the laboratory and I had to orally form and answer the questions, I seemed to forget everything. Thankfully everyone is having the same issue.

Yesterday, we took our boat ride along the coast. It was great. We went around Cap Ferrat, into the harbor at Beaulieu and then on eastward to Monaco. I was not at all impressed with Monaco. The buildings were too dense and it seemed sterile even from the water. There were many high-rise apartments so it appeared a little bit like Hong Kong. Also everything was modern (except the Palace).

After the boat ride, a bunch of us went out to dinner. It was fun to get to know my fellow students.

I also found out on Monday that I have to do an ‘expose’. That might not be the correct word. Basically, I have to talk about something in French in front of the class for 5-10 minutes. Oh-La-La. I hate speaking in front of a group in English. I do not think I’m going to like doing it in French any better. But I have over a week to prepare. I will give my expose on Friday – Sept 21st.

Gourmet Nice

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God I am tired. I don’t know if it was the dancing or the long day yesterday. I barely wanted to move today. My leg muscles screamed out – stay home. But I knew it would probably be best to move.

I didn’t get a chance to investigate the market in Cour Saleya in Nice last weekend. Plus I saw several interesting little vendors selling items I wanted to try. So I forced myself out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed back down to catch the bus to Nice. The market is everyday but Monday until a little after 12:00pm. Luck was on my side and the bus pulled up shortly after I arrived at the stop. 45 minutes after leaving my apartment, I was in Nice.

I hope they renovate the bus station in Nice some day. It is so depressing. I know most bus stations are pretty depressing but this one is a concrete covered parking lot. I’ve only been there on Sunday and the office is closed. Along the side the street is torn up with construction for the tram which doesn’t help.

Anyway, I cross though the road work and I’m immediately into the old town. I’m not completely certain where I am but I just decide to walk and follow the way most people are walking. Soon I recognize Place Rossetti and the Cathdrale de Ste Reparte. People are darting around shopping or siting and drinking an express. I continue on towards the Cours and I pass the fresh pasta places that I had seen last time. One is beautiful. There are large tortellini – triangular shaped hats in multiple colors. There is also gnocchi, merde di can – spinach (or chard) flavored gnocchi, which is dark green/grey. It’s name translates to ‘dog shit’. It sounds unappetizing but looks good.

The market is crowded. People shuffle along looking and taking the offerings of the marketers. Fresh olives, fresh melons for the tasting. It is fig season and they are beautiful. Some are presented in baskets with a fig leaf. There are also bakers, cheese makers, socca vendors, flower vendors. I decide to buy a fragrant melon – just over 2 euros. Then I head back to the pasta vendors. At the intersection of Rue Ste Repartate and Rue de la Prefecture – it is gourmet heaven. There are two fresh pasta vendors. Raviolis Maison Tosello and across the street is Raviolis Barali.

On my last trip in 2000, I had some wonderful raviolis with a sauce daube. I have been dreaming of those raviolis ever since. Both of the shops had daube sauce – It is a sauce made from pot roast and dried mushrooms, herb seasoned and with a bit of tomato flavoring. Excellent! I decided on the ravioli nicoise and sauce daube at Raviolis Barali.

Across the street is La Poulette – They sell both roasted chicken and fresh poultry. The whole rabbits are always hard to look at but the roasted chicken smelled wonderful. They also sell a wide variety of cheese. I decided on a fresh local goat cheese. It was hard to decide since I really enjoyed the fresh Banon Tomme I had last week.

Also on Rue Ste Repartate, were several other small gourmet shops. Fresh roasted coffee at Cafe Indenes and cookies by the ounce at La Cure Gourmande. Near by were also several fresh ice creme shops including Fenocchio. I had my fixings for dinner.

But before I head back to Villefranche, there was one more museum to visit. Close by wa MAMAC, the modern art museum. I really enjoyed it. The building itself is very interesting. It is a round building built over a street and open in the middle. Escalators take you up the floors. It felt very similar to the Koohaus design for the Seattle Library. The galleries are open rooms which were good to display the diverse modern art work. Bridges take you between the two halves and cross above the street. I really enjoyed Niki de St. Phalle retrospective. I want to go back again when G is here.

It took longer to get back to Villefranche. The cruise ships are in, church is out and everyone is headed for the beach or Monaco. There was a traffic jam and the bus stopped for a while a bit outside of VSM. I slowly trudged up the hill and spent the rest of the afternoon resting and doing homework.

For dinner, the ravioli were as wonderful as I remember. They had a touch of spice – I think cloves are in them. The daube sauce was excellent. I’m definitely going back next week for another take out.

Journées Méditerranéennes du Jardin

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It is the end of the first week. It is going so fast but it is also great fun. By Friday, my mind was pretty wasted. I was tired and I had a bit of difficulty thinking in French. I was especially tired after lunch. We went immediately to the practical session where we discussed how to talk about your job and immediately after the practical into the laboratory to practice sentences using irregular verbs. I haven’t memorized my irregular verbs yet so I did terribly. During our afternoon break, I went to a bench in the garden and took a quick cat nap. It worked. I was much better at the end of the afternoon.

We gathered again in the evening for a soiree. The school held an evening get together. We could speak in our native tongue but several people continued to speak French. I didn’t. I really enjoy the other students in my class. We get along really well and I wanted to talk to them. We had a buffet dinner followed by dancing. To break the ice, we did a couple of dancing games which were great fun. I was exhausted by the end of the day.

Today, we had a tour of the city where we learned the history of the region. The citadel has been maintained and is now the city hall. There was a wedding going on since you are married first in a civil ceremony. It was great walking the old ramparts and hearing Lohengrin.

The tour was over at noon. I grabbed a quick bit to eat at the boulangerie. Then I caught bus 100 for Menton. There was a special open garden day – Journées Méditerranéennes du Jardin. One of the private gardens that I wanted to see – Clos du Peyronnet – was part of the tour. It took about 1 hour by bus. It was crowded since it also goes to Monaco and many of the beaches along the coast. The ride was beautiful. As we passed Monaco, the cities became a bit more Italian and the coast more tropical.

The visitors bureau told me to go to a park along the beach and I could book a tour there. I wasn’t certain if I could get in to garden on Saturday but I had my fingers crossed. The Journees was actually a plant vendor show at the park along with being an open garden weekend. Several wholesalers and nurseries which specialized in mediterranean plants were set up on the grass in the park. The variety of plants was exceptional. G would have loved it. My favorite plant was a Bauhinia. In the center were activities for children. They could make a floral hat, draw and lots of other activities for the children. I was able to get the final ticket for Clos du Peyronnet and bus transportation. Yeah!

I wasn’t certain exactly where to catch the bus. I guessed it would be in front and the bus would be white. At 3pm, I looked around and saw several other people with tickets lining up. I guessed correctly. The bus took us along the seaside to the Italian border. Along the way, we passed by the apartment we are renting after the school. The area looks great. Just before the Italian border, we turned and went a short way up into the hills.

The bus dropped us off and we walked down a sentier (footpath) that went along the side of the garden. We waited a few minutes and the owner came out and greeted us and invited us into the garden. He gave the tour in French but I was able to follow most of it. There were many facinating plants in the garden. He has been collecting acasias (mimosa) and is growing many fruit trees; guavas, avocados, chirimoya. There are wonderful paths and vista throughout the garden along with several ponds stairstepping down the hill. Right now, the garden looks a little tired. Everything was dried especially with the drought but you could see the good structure and the love that has gone into the garden.

The bus returned us to the show and I walked the main pedestrian streets of Menton. Saturday is a busy shopping day and the streets where crowded. Not surprisingly, I heard more Italian than French. Menton is a popular day trip for Italians. I found an italian deli and bought some fresh raviolis for dinner.

It was already 6:30 and time to return. The buses only run until about 7:30 so I needed to make certain I caught one back. I could also take the train. It was wonderful riding along the coast with the rays of sun shinning between the coastal hills – watching the sea and coast turn pink.